The Court of Appeal (CA) has issued an order to the Director General of the Wildlife Conservation Department and the Inspector General of Police to take action to prevent the illegal deforestation taking place within the Bogahapelessa Forest Reserve. 

This order has been issued by a Judge bench consisting of the President of the Court, Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and Justice Sasi Mahendran, while considering a petition submitted by the Centre for Environmental Justice.

When the case was taken up, attorney-at-law Ravindranath Dabare, appearing on behalf of the petitioning party, informed the Court that a certain group is engaging in deforestation in a section of the Bogahapelessa Forest Reserve while claiming that it belongs to the Soragune Devalaya in Kataragama. Therefore, the attorney requested the Court to issue a restraining order to prevent further environmental damage in the area.

The Court granted the request and issued the order, while ordering the petition to be recalled on 24 July.